Beauty & The Joker
by Hypnotized By Fate
Summary: A new game has started! Who would have thought the foreigner would fall in love with the foul-mouthed warden? The roleholders warned Alice to stay away from the Jokers & that they are very dangerous. The real questions are: Will she listen? Will Black develop feelings for her as well? What will happen in this twisted, new game?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Here is a story about Alice &amp; Black Joker! I mostly read the manga, seen the movie but I have yet to play the game... Also, I do not know what the Joker's room look like so I'll just make something up. **_**A few things will most likely be out of place throughout, but, it's intentional. I will do my best to make sure the character's personalities are how they're supposed to be, but I make no guarantee's that it will be perfect/exact.**

**Please Review, thank you.**

**[ STORY IS RATED 'M' FOR LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE &amp; POSSIBLY SEXUAL CONTENTS LATER ON. ]**

* * *

**DISCLAIMERS: **I do NOT own Heart/joker/clover no kuni no Alice or the characters.

* * *

_**Chapter 1: **_

She was in the kitchen making coffee for Julius Monrey - known as the 'mortician' of Wonderland. Gray Ringmarc was also there with her, making hot chocolate for himself and his boss, Nightmare Gottschalk. "Lord Nightmare is whining about how cold it is, he refuses to do his work.. Again.." Gray sighed, looking at Alice with his piercing, golden orbs. Alice carefully poured the hot coffee in a mug, "I'm sorry, Gray... I wish he'd stop giving you such a hard time." The foreigner replied, she knew Nightmare can be childish, especially when it comes down to his work or going to the doctors.

A few months had passed since she arrived at Wonderland. The foreigner had decided to stay, although, the thought of how she was forced to come here against her own will still made her grumble in annoyance, especially since a _certain_ white rabbit had to do with all of this.

The brunette grabbed the mug, then turned to smile and wave at Gray before exiting the kitchen and heading back to julius' office, where the man had been working non-stop, fixing the broken clocks. She entered the room and walked towards his desk, setting the mug of coffee down, then smiled.

"Hn, Thank you.." He spoke, not taking his eyes away from his work.

Alice nodded but frowned as she took a seat in a chair on the opposite side from Julius, leaning forward slightly, "Julius, you should really take a break soon... You haven't ate or slept for a few time cycles."

"I'm fine," He replied instantly, his nimble fingers continued to work on the delicate parts of the clocks, "I still have a couple more, I can't fall behind on my work."

She sighed.

Alice was worried the clock maker would eventually collapse and die from working so much without any rest. She looked around the room before something caught her eyes; across the room, was a book that had been sitting on a small wooden table. She had borrowed the book from Blood Dupre a couple days ago, and since she already finished reading it, the brunette figured it's best to head out to the hatter's mansion and return it to him.

"Hey, Julius?" She stood up.

"What?"

Alice walked over to the table, picking up the book, "I think I will go return this book back to Blood.." She then placed a hand on her hip and looked at the man, "While i'm away, _please _get some rest! I'm really worried you'll collapse!"

"Hrm..." He stopped and looked up at Alice through his glasses, his deep, navy blue hair falling slightly over his eyes, "Be careful, Alice.." Julius said with a serious tone in his voice. He knew the damn Hatter likes to taunt her, sometimes harassing Alice just for his own 'entertainment'. It irritates the clock maker every time he found out that Blood had done something absurd to her - sometimes, the poor foreigner would return from the mansion in tears.

"I will.." She assured him. Heading towards the door, she stopped to look at the clock maker one last time before leaving, "I'll be back soon, okay? Please don't overwork yourself... Goodbye, Julius."

After watching the foreigner exit the room and shutting the door behind her, Julius let out a big sigh as he leans back against his chair, closing his eyes. It's been months since she arrived, he still wondered why the foreigner chose to live _here_ instead of Heart Castle or the Amusement Park. Blood, most likely had offered her to stay at the mansion, but for her to refuse his offer wouldn't be a surprise.

Suddenly, he heard a small sqeaking, chattering noise. Opening his eyes slowly, Julius looked down. His eyes widened at what appears to be a furry, little squirrel sitting there on his desk, staring right back at him.

**"GRAY!"**

* * *

The cool breeze ran through her long, chestnut brown hair as Alice made her way to the Hatter's estate. She suddenly stopped and observed her surroundings, noticing she had walked into an unfamiliar part of the forest.

"Where.. _Am_ I?" She asked herself, staring at the many colorful doors and arrows which were pointing at random directions. "I guess i'm lost..." Alice sighed, then decided to sit down and think. Leaning back against a tree, she wondered how she managed to get lost when she _knew_ her way to the mansion.

Something seems different.

"Why the long face, Miss?" Came a voice.

The foreigner sat up straight and looked around the area, trying to find where the voice was coming from.

A tall man dressed in a jester outfit steps out from behind the tree which she was leaning against. He smiled and leaned down to her right ear and whispered, "Could you be lost, perhaps?"

She jumped, immediately standing up and turning around to face the man. He had wine colored hair, wore an eyepatch on his left eye while the other eye showed that it was also, a vibrant wine color.

"Y-yes..." The brunette stuttered, patting down her blue dress and cream-colored apron before picking up the book, which laid next to her feet.

The man chuckled before tilting his head to the side, "Forgive me for scaring you... Perhaps I could be of some help? _My_ name is Joker."

"Nice to meet you... I am Alice Liddell," She gave him a small, sweet smile, "I was.. Trying to reach the Hatter's mansion, but-"

**'Why the hell do you want to go to the Hatter's for, toots?'** Came another voice.

She quirked an eyebrow and stared at the redhead with a confused expression. He smiled and stared down at the mask that was attached to his belt, "I apologize, young Miss... That was my counterpart, Joker."

**'Tch, about damn time you introduced me, clown.'**

Alice stood there, looking at the mask then back at Joker, "Are you a ventriloquist? You're really good... Except your act is kind of... Nasty..."

**'What!? Are you an idiot!?'** The voice screeched.

The redhead laughs, placing a hand over the mask before another word could be said.

"..._Really_ nasty.." Alice said plainly, "Anyways... Could you please point me in the right direction to the Hatter's?"

He lifted up his head, contemplating for a moment, "Hmm... Hatter.. Hatter... Ah!" A grin soon appeared on his face, "Well, Miss.. I can help, but first, you must beat me in a game of cards in order to change the season. Only then, will you be able to reach the Hatters - or any other territories."

"Oh, that's right..." She murmured to herself, "Nightmare mentioned about this earlier... How each territories have different seasons and the only way I can get to where I want to go.. Is by..." Her words trailed off, she looked up at the jester standing before her. "Okay, I accept your challenge."

"Wonderful! This way." He smiled, feigning innocence.

The smile on the man's face sent chills down her spine, it seemed a little _off_ to her somehow. There was something strange about the jester but she couldn't quite put a finger on what it was - but heck, this is Wonderland after all, what _isn't_ strange around here? He turned, heading back to the circus as she followed him from behind. Soon, the sound of circus music caught her attention and the smell of popcorn and sugary confections filled the air. Small jester children and circus performers ran around, a few were even practicing their acts.

The foreigner looked around curiously before bumping into someone in front of her. "Oh! I apologize! I wasn't looking where I was going..."

The ringleader turned and looked at her, her large blue-green eyes staring back into his single red orb, "No worries, Miss Alice~" He chimed, then walked towards a wooden table with a chair that sat outside a large tent. "Now then, please have a seat. How does 'blackjack' sound to you?" He asked, and with a snap of a finger, a deck of cards appeared.

He proceeded by picking up the cards and shuffling them.

"That's fine with me." She nodded and approached the table, taking a seat on the chair and setting the book down. Alice soon felt a strong, eerie tension in the air, sending chills down her spine yet again. Slowly, she glanced up at Joker, this time his smile seemed more like a mischevious smirk.

The look he had in his single, wine-colored eye made her very uncomfortable.

* * *

Sounds of footsteps echoed through the cold, dimly-lit halls of the prison. The warden walked down alongside the cells, glaring at the inmates who wore large, stuff-animal head masks. They flinched at the sight of the warden, either curling into the far corners in the back of the cell or stepping away from the bars, remaining silent.

"F*cking ingrates.." He hissed, finishing up his round inspecting the prison, checking to make sure every single prisoners were there.

Then, something crossed his mind - The foreigner. Ah yes, this was the first time him and Joker have met the little outsider everyone in Wonderland so dearly loved. Even though he himself, have not met her in person yet, that will all soon change.

The man was heading back to his office until he heard the sounds of laughter through the mask that sat on his belt. He gritted his teeth then glared down at it with an annoyed look on his face.

* * *

"Darn, you beat me again!"

Alice laughed with the jester. She was speechless considering how she did not expect to beat the man in every single round of 'blackjack'. The brunette stood up from the chair and picked up the book. "Well, that was fun.."

He nodded, "Ah, so what season would yo-"

Suddenly, the time period changed as the sky darkened.

The foreigner groaned; at this rate, she won't be able to make it to the mansion and return the book to Blood, but she had to at least head back to the tower, otherwise Julius would be worried. "I have to get back to the tower..." She sighed, "I can visit Blood next time."

The redhead gave her a semi-concerned look, "But Miss, it's getting dark! It is dangerous to wander around in the forest at this time..." A smirk tugged on the side of his lips, "Please, stay here for the night, Joker and I wouldn't mind."

"What!? Are you out of your damn mind, Joker!?"

Both blinked, then turned their attention towards a figure who stepped out from the large tent, holding a riding crop in hand with an angry look upon their face. The brunette's eyes widened as she noticed the man looked exactly like the jester, except, he was wearing a prison warden's uniform, not to mention he didn't seem, nor looked, to be nearly as friendly as the ringleader himself. She glanced up at the jester, noticing he had a huge grin on his face as he watched the warden approach him, gripping his weapon tightly.

"Now, now, Joker! Don't be rude to our guest, it'll only be for one night!" He snickered.

"I don't give a f*ck! She's not staying - You can escort her back to the damn tower!"

The ringleader's gaze turned serious for a moment. "Excuse us for a moment!" He smiled at Alice, then grabbed his counterparts shoulder, forcing him to turn around and pushing the warden forward so they could distance themselves from where the young maiden stood. "Think about it, Joker..." He said, a wicked smile formed on his lips. "We will have the foreigner in our hands, don't you find that interesting?"

The warden didn't reply, instead, he fold his arms over his chest and glanced at the young maiden, narrowing his eye.

"I thought it would be _fun_, don't you? The foreigner everyone loves so much! Here with us!" Said the jester.

"What the f*ck are you up too, clown..."

He grinned before placing a finger on his lips, "That, will be a secret~ You'll find out soon enough, Joker."

The warden rolled his visible eye, "I swear, Joker, if she gets in my way and annoys the sh*t outta me, your ass is mine..."

Alice watched from afar, wondering what the two Jokers could be talking about. The prison warden seemed to be annoyed by his counterpart, who yet again, had that michevious grin on his face. Then, both men turned and walked back towards her.

"Good news, dear! Joker here finally agreed to let you stay with us for the night." The ringleader said.

Putting away his riding crop, the warden glared down at her.

Alice flinched under his gaze, then spoke, "Oh, t-thank you..." She turned to the jester, "Are... You twins?"

"Of course not! Joker and I are merely two sides on the same coin - we are the same person, yet we are not." He answered.

She tilted her head, still slightly confused. "Is it alright if I called you 'White'?" She smiled politely before facing the warden, "And... Can I call you, 'Black'?"

"Whatever.."

The jester nodded, "If that will make things easier for you, then sure."

A loud rumbling noise suddenly came from the foreigner. Her face turned red as she placed a hand on her stomach. It was dark and she hasn't had a meal since earlier that morning, she was indeed very hungry.

White laughed, "Well then, shall I show you to your room now? Joker over here can get dinner started for us!"

"What!?" Black growled, but before he could open his mouth to protest, his counterpart had already led the maiden inside the large tent.

The scene around the foreigner and the jester soon changed, what used to be the circus was now the cold prison walls. She blinked her eyes a few times, wondering how they got here when she could of sworn they were just in the circus a minute ago.

"Welcome to the living realm, Miss Alice~ Or, the 'prison realm', if you will," White said, "This is where Joker works, and where we both live.. Now, let me show you your room, this way please."

He headed down the hall as Alice gripped the book in her hand, bringing it to her chest and hugging onto it tightly as she walked passed the cells where the prisoners were. They all stood up and watched the two in silence, the sight of them - especially while wearing those odd stuff animal masks, creeped her out.

She gulped and continued walking, staying close the jester and doing her best to ignore the prisoners gaze.

"Here we are!" He stopped at a door and reached his hand over to open it, revealing a large room.

Alice stepped in slowly, noticing the walls were black, there was also a small window and a large bed with black and red checkered blankets, accompanied by satin, red pillows. She walked towards a black, wooden dresser that rested beside the bed and set the book down. She looked up at the mirror in front of her then turned to face White. "This is a.. Lovely room, thank you, White."

He nodded, "We are happy to have you as our gue-"

"Joker! Get your ass in the kitchen! You better f*cking help me make dinner - I'm no damn housewife!" The warden shouted, startling both the jester and Alice as he turned at the corner and enters the bedroom. Ignoring the girl, the warden grabbed his counterpart by the front of his shirt then dragged him out the door.

"Haha, sorry miss! Joker here doesn't like cooking, I'll come get you once dinner is ready!" He waved, then pulled the door shut behind him.

* * *

Black continued to drag the jester into the kitchen, mumbling colorful words under his breath before letting go of White's shirt, "I hope you're f*cking happy.. Now help me with dinner."

The ringleader smirked. "Come now, Joker! Be nice... Who knows, maybe you'll end up liking her.. Or... Maybe you already do?" He teased.

"Tch! As if i'm like those f*cking roleholders!" Black spat, then turned to look at the frying pan sitting on the stove. The warden had already been trying to prepare some food, the only reason he was willing to get dinner started was because after a long day, _he_ was also hungry - Black wasn't much of a cook though, it was usually his counterpart that prepared the meals.

"Who knows!" White chuckled and leaned back against the table, folding his arms across his chest, watching him.

Growling in annoyance, Black turned and stormed towards his counterpart, reaching out to grab him by his shirt again, "Shut the f*ck up! Say another word and I'll.. I'll..."

White parted his lips to speak until something caught his attention; he began sniffing around, noticing the odd, but familiar smell in the air. "Joker I-" He started, but was cut off by his counterpart.

"I said don't f*cking say another word!"

Tilting his head to the side and looking pass the warden, he blinked a few times, then pointed towards the stove. "Whatever you are making, Joker... It's on fire."

The warden turned to look over his shoulder, his eye widened in horror at the sight of the flames. **"For F*ck Sake! There Goes the damn f*cking steaks! Sh*t!"**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMERS:** I do NOT own Heart/joker/clover no kuni no alice or the characters.

* * *

**_Chapter 2:_**

"T-thank you.. Black..." Alice said when the warden set down a plate of food in front of her before taking his own seat at the kitchen table.

Knitting her eyebrows together, she stared at the burnt piece of, what she would assume, was some sort of meat. White also joined the two for dinner, sitting down and smiling sweetly at the foreigner then glancing over at his partner. The warden had started eating, ignoring the two while grumbling a few rude words under his breath about the little incident earlier in the kitchen - he was still upset about burning the steaks, but more annoyed about what his counterpart had said. She remained silent, staring at the warden, then turned her attention towards the jester who was currently trying to scrape as much as the burnt, charred parts off the steak as he could with his knife and fork.

"Is everything alright, Miss?" He asked, noticing she hadn't touched her food yet.

She sat up straight and nodded, "Y-yes!" Alice proceeded to pick up the knife and fork, mimicking the jester's action as she scraped the black char off the meat, "Thank you for dinner.."

"You're very welcome - of course, I can't allow myself to take all the credit here!" White smirked. "Joker, had also helped out; he has done such a _wonderful_ job with the steaks~"

Black threw his counterpart a glare when he picked up the sarcastic tone in the jester's voice.

Dinner was painfully quiet for the young maiden. Neither White nor Black spoke a word as they ate and it made her shift around in her chair occasionally, but luckily, neither of the two Jokers had noticed. After finishing their meals, Alice had insisted on helping out by clearing the table and taking care of the dishes - it was the least she could do, she thought. The warden had disappeared for a brief moment, then entered the kitchen again as he took a seat across from White; both men decided to play a game of cards while they waited for Alice to finish with the dishes.

She was startled by a sudden loud 'bang' coming from behind her. The warden had slammed his fists down on the table in anger. "You _cheated_!" He hissed, throwing down the cards in front of the jester.

"But, isn't cheating what _you_ do, Joker~?" White teased.

The brunette watched as both Jokers continued their bickering.

When Alice finished drying the last dish and placing them back carefully in the cupboard, she turned her attention towards the two men. How was White able to win playing cards against Black? She pondered, considering how she had won every round when playing against the jester himself earlier that day.

Could he be letting her win on purpose?

The ringleader yawned and picked up his cards, ignoring his counterparts threats, "I suppose I should call it a night!" He stood up and stretched, then made his way over to Alice. White leaned forward and smiled softly, his face just mere inches away from hers, "Goodnight Miss, I hope you sleep well tonight."

The foreigner was surprised at how close their faces were as she was staring right into the wine colored eye of his. "Yes.. Goodnight White, I hope you sleep well too!" A flush of pink appeared on her cheeks.

He straightened himself and nodded. Turning away, White headed out of the kitchen, a smirk tugged on the corner of his lips before he disappeared from their sight. Alice sighed softly, then turned her head to look at the warden, wondering if he must've been watching her and the jester. She immediately averted her azure eyes and looked down towards her clasped hands in front of her, trying to figure out what she could say to him.

Black rolled his single wine orb before pushing himself up off the chair. "Get outta here and go rest, girlie.."

"Y-Yes... Goodnight, Black!"

The man remained silent, his face expression remaining stoic as the foreigner smiled at him before taking off. He exhaled, slightly shocked that he had held his breath. "No... I'm not like those damn roleholders.." He clenched his fists.

* * *

Morning came, the jester had already left earlier to take care of business at the circus, checking on the performers and preparing for the upcoming show that soon approached. The warden had just finished up his usual round of inspecting the cells, making sure all the prisoners were there.

Alice, was also already awake and dressed. She wondered about last night, when she made it back to her room after dinner and saw a lovely black satin nightgown that sat neatly on the bed for her. Was it White who found her a nightgown? Black? She shook her head lightly. She didn't know, but she was very thankful, regardless. The maiden opened the bedroom door and peeped outside for a moment, then stepped out and shut the door behind her, making her way down the hall. The brunette was hoping she would find White or Black somewhere nearby. She wanted to thank them one last time before leaving, after all, she still needed to visit the Hatter's mansion and return the book she had borrowed from Blood before heading back to the tower. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if Julius had listened to her about taking a break. A loud sigh escaped her mouth, she shook her head again and shut her eyes at the thought of Julius possibly collapsing from working too much; she was worried about him, yes. But she also had to remember that Gray and Nightmare were there, in case anything were to happen to the mortician while she was away, she could at least count on Gray and maybe Nightmare to take care of the clockmaker.

"Julius.." She whispered.

Her thoughts immediately came to a halt when she had walked right into someone. The foreigner yelped in surprise and stumbled back.

Black blinked then turned around, "Are you f*cking blind or just stupid!?" He snapped.

Alice flinched at his words before replying, "Sorry, Black! I was just thinking about Julius earlier, I didn't notice you were standing there..." Her voice trailed off.

Folding his arms across his chest, he smirked at her, "Worried about one of your many lovers, huh sl*t?"

Her eyes widened, "What? N-no! Julius is..." She looked down slightly, "He's like family to me.."

Black chuckled, "Don't even bother trying to lie about it, wh*re!"

The foreigner couldn't help but to grit her teeth and glare at the warden for his rude comment, "I'm _not_ a sl*t or a wh*re!" She argued back.

"My, my... What is going on here?"

Black and Alice turned to see White walking towards them with a displeased look on his face. The warden narrowed his eye at his counterpart, his tongue clicked before he spoke, "The hell are you doing here, clown?"

The jester smiled brightly, "Well, I've missed you too, Joker!" He replied in a sarcastic tone, turning to the foreigner and ignoring the warden's glare, "Hello young Miss! I hope you slept well last night? I thought I would take a break and come see how you're doing." He glanced at his counterpart for a second before turning his attention back to her.

"Yes, I slept well... I was hoping if you could show me the way out.. I would really like to be on my way soon.. I'm sure everyone must be worried."

He nodded and turned to point at the direction from which he came, "Just keep heading in that direction and you'll find yourself back at the circus, I'll be there in a moment.." He gave her a fake, sweet smile. "If you don't mind, I need to have a word with Joker here - it won't take long."

Staring at White, she tilted her head to the side slightly, considering him for a moment. There it was again, his smile that seemed to send chills down her spine, making her both uncomfortable and a little curious. Alice felt the tension in the air, but decided it was best to listen to White.

She nodded at the jester then turned and walked away from the two.

White watched as the foreigner disappeared from sight before turning to face the warden, his expression now serious, "And what exactly _is_ going on here, Joker?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about.."

He stared into his counterparts eye, remaining silent for a moment before letting out a small sigh, "Hm.. I guess I was wrong then," White laughed while shaking his head, "For a moment there, it seemed as if you _were_ up to something!"

"Are you f*cking out of your damn mind?" Black gritted his teeth.

The jester waved a hand at the warden as his laughter died down, "Very well, Joker.. I apologize for the misunderstanding then," He straightened himself and cleared his throat, "We can't afford to lose our chance in capturing Wonderland's beloved foreigner... The game has yet to begin!"

* * *

Sighing as she waited patiently outside the large tent, Alice watched the performers run around, a few who were carrying a couple of props and other materials for what she believed, was probably for the show. Earlier, a few jester children had asked her to play with them, and so she did, but it wasn't long until they had to return back to their tents, leaving her there to wait for White, again.

The ringleader appeared from the large tent, he smirked at the sight of the foreigner standing there with her back facing him, completely unaware of his presence. Slowly, the man made his way towards her and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Thank you for waiting."

Alice jumped before turning on her heel, "W-white! Don't s-scare me like that!" Her face grew red, noticing how close his face was to hers.

He smiled slightly before reaching out and placing a hand gently against her cheek, brushing his thumb against her soft skin, "My apologies, Miss~" He purred, pulling his hand away.

She gasped at his action, but took in a deep breath in attempt to calm herself down, aware of how fast her heart was beating now. White, however, only chuckled at her reaction, making her blush even more.

"Shall we head towards the forest?" He glanced down at her.

She nodded slightly before giving White a small, unsure smile, "I.. also, wanted to thank you and Black.. again.. For everything."

He shrugged his shoulders lightly, "It's our pleasure, Miss! We enjoyed having you here~" He said, "Now, this way young Miss! I'll show you where to go."

Alice proceeded to follow White out of the circus.

"We will meet again very soon.." The jester spoke softly as he walked with her.

* * *

The door was kicked open as Black stormed into his office, he took a seat in his chair before removing his hat and setting it down on his desk. The warden growled and clenched his fists, still annoyed at what his counterpart said to him earlier. What made him even more upset was the fact that the clown was right, a part of him couldn't help but try to scare the foreigner off, hoping she'll never return here.

Does he find her amusing? _Yes._  
Is she annoying? _Yes._  
Does he want to capture her too? _Yes._

Why the hell did he suddenly want to help the foreigner see past the jester's plastered smile, was beyond him. Why was he acting like this?

He sighed, running a hand through his wine colored hair.

* * *

White smiled as he waved goodbye to the foreigner.

He told her they will meet again soon and she is welcomed back anytime, whether she came to just change the season or to visit. What had caught his interest, was when Alice had suddenly asked him about a nightgown on her bed the night before - she actually assumed it was him and thanked him for it before she left.

The corners of his mouth began to twitch as she disappeared from his sight. He put his arm down, a wicked smirk appeared on his face. "I didn't know you found her a nightgown, Joker! How sweet of you!" He stared at the mask on his belt.

There was a long pause before a buzzing noise was heard. **'Whatever.'**

White chuckled and shook his head slightly. Turning around, the ringleader headed back to the circus. "A new game will soon begin, my dear. This will be fun!"


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMERS:** I do NOT own Heart/joker/clover no Kuni no Alice or the characters.

* * *

_**Chapter 3:**_

Flower petals gracefully danced around her as the warm breeze blew. Alice walked through the forest, smiling when the sweet smell of cherry blossoms filled her nose. White had changed the season for her with a snap of his finger before she left - she decided to go with Spring. The young maiden couldn't help but to think about the two Jokers as she walk down the path the jester had pointed out to her earlier. Before she left, she thanked White for the nightgown she found, placed on her bed the night she stayed. It was odd to her that he only stood there staring at her, but nodded and smiled. '_White **did** leave the nightgown, right? It couldn't possibly be Black, right?'_ She furrowed her brows slightly as the questions flood her mind.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Alice, my love~!" Came a voice of the one person whom she had hoped to avoid the most.

"Peter..." She said bitterly, turning at her heel and quickly taking a step to the side when the white rabbit had attempted to throw himself on her.

Peter's eyes widened when he fell forward, landing face first down on the ground.

She placed her hands on her hip, showing not the slightest bit of sympathy for the white-haired man. "What are you doing here, Peter?"

He pushed himself up swiftly, then turned to face her, "I came to see _you_, my pet~" His crimson eyes were filled with joy as they sparkled.

"Shouldn't you be back at the castle, working?" She raised an eyebrow.

Peter smiled before reaching a gloved hand into his coat and pulling out an envelope, "Ah, but I am working, my dear! I was sent by the Queen herself to give you this invitation to her majesty's next tea party."

Alice stared blankly at the envelope for a moment.

When _was _the last time she saw Vivaldi? Now that she thought about it more, when _was_ the last time she left the tower and went to visit the other roleholders? She had been so busy lately, from helping Julius out - preparing his coffee, food and making sure he got some rest, to helping Gray with paperworks and searching for Nightmare around the tower for hours on end. The incubus always ran off to hide, not wanting to take his medicine or having to go to the doctor's - _especially_ the hospital.

"My love?" Peter spoke, leaning towards her more closely with a concerned look upon his face. "Are you not well?" He placed a gloved hand on her forehead.

She snapped back from her thoughts, "I-... No, I'm fine.." She shut her eyes and took in a deep breath, shaking her head. "I... Look forward to Vivaldi's tea party!" She took the envelope from Peter and forced a small smile.

The Prime Minister grabbed both her hands and held it close to his chest. "Oh, my dear Alice! I have missed you so.. Are you happy with your stay at the tower?"

"Yes, everything is fine, Peter! I've.. Been so busy, I suppose... I just lost track of time."

"Haha, so that's why we haven't seen ya in a while, Alice!"

Peter and Alice turned their heads toward the direction where the voice had come from. A rustling noise was heard from behind the tree's and bushes, than a tall figure stepped out. The Prime Minister narrowed his eyes at the man approaching them, letting go of the foreigner's hand and grabbing his pocket watch, "Knave of Hearts.." Peter held up the large pocket watch as it suddenly transformed into a pistol in a mere blink of an eye.

"Ace!"

"Hiya Alice!" He waved, completely ignoring the white rabbit and the gun that was obviously pointed right at him, "How have you been? It's been a while since I've seen ya!" He pouted.

"I'm sorry Ace, I've just been busy lately..." She smiled nervously.

"Busy, huh?" He held a hand up to his chin, looking up, "Hmm, busy? With Julius? What _have_ you two been busy doing, exactly?" A wide grin spread across his face.

"Do not fill my love's precious, innocent mind with such dirty, absurd thoughts, Knight!" Peter shouted.

Ace laughed when he noticed how worked up the Prime Minister had become due to his questions towards the girl. He glanced down at her as a hint of pink tinted her cheeks and a mixed look of discomfort, confusion and embarrassment was written all over her face.

"Aw~ come on, Mister Peter! Julius and Alice _must_ had been up to something naughty! Just look at her face!"

Alice was startled by the sound of a gun being fired - Peter had pulled the trigger.

She turned her attention towards the knight, whom somehow managed to reflect the bullet away from himself and towards a nearby tree with his sword. The PM didn't seem to be the least bit surprised, but rather more annoyed. Ace narrowed his ruby-red eyes slightly, a smile still on his face.

Peter clenched his teeth and without warning, began to fire more bullets towards the knight.

* * *

"Hey, brother.. I'm bored..." Complained a boy with short ash-black hair, his light red eyes looking towards his twin brother who stood beside him, staring back with his light blue orbs. "Yeah, me too..."

The sound of a gun going off soon caught their attention.

"Did you hear that, brother?"

"Yeah, brother! Sounds like there's a fight going on up ahead!"

The twins glanced at each other, sharing a grin while tightening their grips on their pole-axes. "This will be _way_ more fun!" Both boys said in unison, running off into the forest and leaving their posts at the gate.

* * *

"Peter! Ace!" The foreigner cried out, trying desperately to stop them. Unfortunately, Ace and Peter were far too focused on their fight at the moment.

"Sorry Mister Peter, but I'm way faster!" Ace closed in on the gap between him and the white rabbit, his sword held out.

Alice watched in horror when Peter barely got away from Ace's sword that slashed across the PM's stomach. She balled her hands into fists, squeezing her eyes shut and inhaled before screaming again, "I.. I said S-stop!"

The sound of Peter's gun going off echoed through the forest again, followed by a couple of unfamiliar clashing sounds - The noise was somehow _different_ compared to the knight's sword. A long pause of silence washed over them before the young maiden opened her eyes to see what had happened.

"Big sis!" The boy in blue grinned, standing in front of her while facing the two men. "Don't worry, we'll protect you!"

"Yeah! We won't let anything bad happen to our big sis!" The boy in red held his pole-axe a little higher.

"Dee! Dum!" She gasped.

"Tsk.." Ace clicked his tongue, examined his sword, making sure there weren't any flaws before his red eyes turned to the PM then towards the bloody twins who stood in front of Alice. He smirked, "Even if you two runts decided to team up with Mister Peter, you still won't beat me!"

"Shut up, stupid knight! Brother and I can take the both of you!" Dum exclaimed.

"Yeah! We can kill you and the PM!"

A grim expression fell over Alice's face after hearing this.

Of course they wouldn't stop fighting, they enjoyed fighting and killing - minus _maybe_ the Prime Minister, who originally wanted to just kill the damn knight. Peter seemed like he was going to burst at any second judging by the look on his face, he was obviously very irritated.

The twins dug a heel into the ground, crouching over slightly and pushed themselves forward, gliding across the forest floor, their eyes fixated on the knight.

Ace grinned, gripping the handle on his sword with both hands, preparing himself.

Dee held out his axe as he was about to swing at Ace in a vertical motion - he suddenly jumped to the side and headed for the PM instead, who was within the distance. Ace blinked, but noticed Dum was in front of him as the boy swung his axe downward at Ace; they met with a loud '_clang_' that seemed to reverberate through the forest.

"Gotta do better than that to beat me, squirt!" Ace laughed, pushing the axe away roughly. He proceeded to swing at the boy.

Dee began slashing at the Prime Minister who dodged the swift, incoming blade and lifted his gun to fire at Dee. The boy reflected the bullets with his axe and continued running towards Peter, taking a couple more swings at the white rabbit while laughing in amusement.

"Such nosey, troublesome worms! This was between the knight and I! What part do you have in all of this!?" Peter growled then ducked when the blade flew over his head, barely missing his white, rabbit ears.

"We don't care~! Brother and I were bored until we heard fighting going on here!" Dee grinned.

The PM jumped back and took off in a sprint while Dee followed after him. He turned around and shot a few more rounds at the boy as he ran towards Ace and the boy in red.

"Stupid Knight! Stop dodging and die already!" Dum growled as he watched Ace jumping into the air, doing a back flip before landing on his feet, a twisted smile on his face.

Alice was speechless. She stood there - frozen, shaking in fear as her heart raced while she watched her friends trying to kill each other for their own joy and entertainment.

"Brother! Are you ready!?" Screamed Dum. He glanced over at his brother.

"You know it, brother!" Dee smirked and held up his weapon.

Ace raised an eyebrow, then glanced over his shoulder; he saw Peter heading his way, the PM stopped and turned to face Dee as he now stood back-to-back with the knight. Both men turned their attentions towards the boy in front of them who were closing in on the two men, their axes held up high in the air.

"Haha, how's it going, Mister Peter? I'd be glad to help you~" Ace chirped, holding his sword out in front, watching Dum.

"Fool! I never asked for your help! Go die-" Peter's eyes widened when he realized what the twins were trying to do, "We need to distance ourselves!"

"Na-uh~" Both twins yelled in a sing-song voice, "we got you both now!"

Dum twisted himself around, lowering his axe to swing clockwise at the men's legs. Dee did the same, only swinging his axe higher up, aiming for their heads.

"Geez, thanks for your concern Mister Peter, but I can handle this!" Ace exclaimed, bringing his sword down to clash with the incoming blade of Dum's pole-axe. Ace turned his sword at an angle, forcing the axe down on the ground. "Almost got us there, runt! Nice try!"

"Brother! Get him!" Dum shouted as he struggles to lift up his weapon, glaring at Ace who still had a stupid grin on his face.

"You're mine now, stupid rabbit!" Dee screamed.

Peter furrowed his brows and crouched down while Ace jumped aside, both men managing to avoid Dee's attack. Dum immediately took this chance to pull his axe upward at the knight, but missed slicing his face by a mere inch.

"Stop!" Alice fell onto her knee's, tears threatening to fall at any moment.

The sound of a machine gun being fired from a distant caught everyone by surprise - Ace, Peter and the twins immediately stopped and dropped down onto the forest floor, avoiding the showering bullets that flew over their heads and straight into the poor tree's behind them.

"...I believe I made my point.. wouldn't you agree, Elliot?"

"Like hell you did, boss!"

Alice wiped her eyes quickly as the sound of footsteps halted beside her. "Young lady, you need not to worry anymore.." Came a silky, deep voice.

Her head shot up, "Blood!"

Alice then noticed a taller gentleman with a pair of fuzzy rabbit ears and gold-orange hair storming towards the four. "Elliot!"

Elliott March gave her a warm smile before turning his attention back to the two men and the twins. He narrowed his eyes at Dee and Dum, "Sh*tty runts! Didn't we tell you to not leave your post!? Quit skipping work all the time!"

The boys stood up and glared back at the march hare.

"Stupid chicken-rabbit! You can't tell us what to do!" Dee shouted.

"Yeah! We almost had them until you showed up!" his brother added.

Helping Alice up onto her feet, Blood cleared his throat and the twins immediately pressed their mouths shut. They lowered their heads in defeat, not wanting to get into more trouble by their boss.

Elliot turned his violet gaze towards the knight, "How many times do I have to tell you!? If you can't read a map, then memorize the route!"

Ace laughs and sheath his sword, "Well, I figured I'd take a shortcut, but I somehow ended up here.." He shrugged, then waved his hand dismissively "I guess I'll be on my way then!" He turned around but stopped, glancing at Alice and Blood, "Nice seeing ya again, Alice! You too, Mister Hatter!" The knight smiled brightly at them before walking away, disappearing behind the tree's.

Rolling his eyes, Elliot then stood face to face with Peter White, "And you, Prime Minister?"

"I came here to find my dear beloved," He stated, "Until that idiotic knight appeared.." Peter adjusted his coat, his eyes scanned the surrounding area before it met with Alice's blue-green orbs. "My pet~ Are you ok!?" He ran towards her, completely ignoring the twins, Elliot and Blood.

Alice immediately threw a death glare his way, "I think you should go now, Peter.." She said dryly.

"But-"

"LEAVE. OR I'LL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU EVER AGAIN..." She warned.

With a shocked, horrified expression, Peter nodded slowly, his ears drooped down as he sighed, "As you wish, my turtle dove.." He hung his head low, then turned away.

The young maiden sighed in relief as they watched the white rabbit leave the area. Looking up at Blood, she noticed his emerald-green eyes were gazing back at her. "Thank you, Blood.." She said softly.

"You are very welcome, young lady," He smiled politely, "Did you come here to visit us?"

She nodded, "Yes, I actually..." The foreigner looked at her hands, then at the forest floor around her, "Oh no.. I'm so sorry, Blood! I was trying to return your book, but-"

"Onee-san~ Is _this_ it!?" The twins interrupted as they ran up to her. Dee held up the book in his hand, "We found it, big sis! Does that mean we were helpful?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, big sis! Tell us we're good boys!" His brother nodded.

Alice crouched down and gave them both a big hug before taking the book, "Y-yes, you both were... Very helpful. Thank you Dee and Dum!"

"Yeah, we helped big sis!" The boys cheered.

* * *

"F*cking ingrate!" The warden shouted. He held up his riding crop and began violently beating a prisoner who had escaped earlier.

The jester stood a few feet away from the scene, his arms folded in front of his chest with a blank expression on his face as he watch his counterpart beat the living daylights out of a prisoner who yelped and groaned in pain, cowering in the corner of the prison cell.

"Hiya, Mister Joker! Ace here, reporting for duty!"

White blinked and turned his attention towards the approaching figure, "Ah, knight of Hearts.. Where have you been?"

Ace tilt his head to the side, a confused expression plastered on his face.

The jester frowned. He knew it's not surprising for the knight to show up late since he _is_ directionally challenged, constantly getting lost.

"Where the f*ck were you!? You're supposed to be here four f*cking time cycles ago!" Black spat, shutting the cell door, locking it and walking towards the two.

The knight rubbed the back of his head and smiled at Black, "Sorry about that, boss! I kinda got lost... Then I ran into Mister Peter and Alice in the forest!"

The corner of the jester's mouth twitched upward slightly, "Alice? And what exactly was she doing with the Prime Minister?"

Ace tilted his head back slightly, his hands on his hip, "Hmm... Last thing I heard, was how she lost track of time," he answered. "Not sure why Mister Peter was there, but we got into a fight - then the bloody twins showed up!"

"Interesting..." He glanced at Black, "Don't you have anything to say about all this, Joker?"

Black narrowed his eye at his counterpart, "Tch.. She's a sl*t, what do you expect, Joker? Nothing else needs to be said!"

* * *

Alice took a sip of her tea and smiled. She looked at Blood who sat to her left, then Elliott who sat across from her, stuffing as much carrot pastries into his mouth as possible. Dee and Dum sat to her right, smiling and laughing as they made fun of Elliott and his love for carrots, pointing out that he was indeed, a rabbit. She couldn't help but to giggle when Elliott glared at the twins and argued, claiming he 'wasn't a rabbit', but a _dog_ with 'long, floppy ears'.

Blood set his teacup down, ignoring the three, "Young lady.." He began, turning to face her, "It's nice to finally see you again.. Have you been managing well?"

She nodded, "Yes, everything is fine! How about you, Blood? Have you been doing well yourself?"

The corners of his lips twitched, "I've been.. Busy - But doing well, nonetheless, thank you."

"Big sis! You should visit us more often! We were starting to think you hated us!" Dum stared at her.

"Mhmm, what brother said!" Dee agreed.

"Yeah, Alice.." Elliot added, "What have you been up too, anyways?"

"...I.. have been working hard, helping Gray, Nightmare and Julius out at the tower. Then I noticed a book sitting on the side and remembered I had borrowed it from Blood a few days ago, So, I decided to return the book - I also got lost on my way here... Then I met White and Black."

The march hare blinked. He turned to look at his boss, who frowned at the last sentence, "White and Black? Do you mean to say, you have met the Jokers in the forest?"

She nodded, "Yes, they are kind of... _Strange_.. But they seemed nice.. White had changed the season and showed me how to get here."

"Hey, Alice..." Elliot gave her a serious look, "You should avoid those two when you can.. Those guys are really dangerous, you know?"

"Elliot is right, young lady. If you find that you must go somewhere, please consider taking someone with you - even if it means bringing the annoying white rabbit along.." Blood rested his chin on his hand, "It's much safer than going alone."

The brunette sat quietly. Were the Jokers really that dangerous? She wondered. Alice looked up and opened her mouth, getting ready to speak until she stopped when something else caught her attention.

The march hare raised his eyebrows in curiosity as to why the young maiden was staring at him, "Alice..? You okay?"

Slowly, she pushed herself up from her seat, reaching a hand over towards the march hare "El-Elliot~" Alice whispered, brushing her fingers against his soft, furry ears; her eyes lit up. "So soft!" She squealed in delight.

"Huh? Hey, Alice, what are yo- **OUCH!**"

The foreigner giggled as she continued to pet and tug on his soft, golden-brown ears.

"Ow ow ow! H-hey! Alice! Oww!" Elliot looked towards his boss with pleading eyes. "Boss! Help!"

Blood took another sip of his tea, his brows slightly twitching as he watched the scene in front of him.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Yelled Dum, "Stupid chicken-rabbit hogging big sis all to himself!"

"Yeah! We wanna play with big sis too!" Dee whined, "Stupid chicken-rabbit!"

"I'M NOT A RABB- **OUCH!**"

The twins pushed themselves away from the table, rushing towards Alice. "Bis sis~ Play with us too!" Dum tugged on her arm.

"Yeah! We want you to play with us!"

"OW OW OW! Alice, s-stop! Boss, help - my ears are gonna get ripped off! AHHHH!" Elliot cried out.

Blood held a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, then heaved a sigh.

* * *

White Joker wandered around his circus, checking to make sure everything was in place and nodded to the performers who were taking a break from their acts. A few small jester children ran up to him as they laughed and smiled while tugging on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Joker, Joker! Will the outsider come visit us again!?" A faceless, jester child asked.

"Yeah! We want to play with her some more!" Another added.

The ringleader reached down to pat them on the head gently, "We will certainly see her again soon!"

The children cheered in joy before turning around and taking off. White chuckled and glanced down at the mask on his belt, "It's almost time, Joker.. Aren't you just as excited as I am?"

**'Of course, Joker! I want to see how well the damn brat does.'**

The jester grinned. "Mm, I do too~ We'll have her where we want her!"

* * *

Alice sat down in front of a large mirror, brushing her long silky hair. Blood insisted she stayed since it has been a while since they've all seen her. After the tea party, she went to play with the twins but decided to stop after Dee and Dum's game became a little dangerous. She also apologized to Elliot for nearly ripping his ears off - she couldn't help herself, his ears were just so darn cute!

She sighed in annoyance, setting her hairbrush down when the thought of what happened earlier with her and Blood played in her mind. He had tricked her into going in his office with him, telling her about the new shipments of books he received just recently. Although he was telling the truth about the new books he had, the damn hatter had tried to make a move on her again. He had her pinned on his luxurious couch while she was reading, then he dared to go as far as to run his hand up her legs and plant kisses around her neck.

Alice shuddered.

Luckily for her, she got away when Elliot came bursting through the doors with a few important documents in hand, which he claimed required his boss' attention immediately. Blood wasn't happy, but Alice was very thankful.

"I might not be so lucky next time.. I need to be more careful around Blood.." She mumbled to herself, staring at her own reflection in the mirror. "And they said that White and Black were dangerous..."

The foreigner stood up and walked towards the large bed. She switched the light off before crawling underneath the sheets, snuggling up against the soft pillows. Then, Alice noticed there was a strange, hard bump. Slowly reaching a hand underneath her pillow, she searched for the hard object.

Her fingers brushed against something then.

"Wha.. What is this?" Alice turned the lights back on and pulled the item out. She raised her brows as she stared at the square object in her hand.

The item was a fairly decent size, about three inches all around. It was completely black, but had an image on each side of the cube. Examining the unusual object, Alice noted the six, red images on each side.

"Heart, Diamond.. A Clover? And Spade..?" She raised her eyebrows when she turned the cube to look for the last two symbols, "A.. Skull..? And.." Her eyes widened at the last symbol, "Is... Is that.. A _Joker_?"

The cube began to glow as it levitated above her hands. Alice watched closely as it seemed to have little one-inch cubelets in rows of three's which turned and rotated, mixing up the images.

_'A puzzle..?'_ She raised a brow.

When the object had finished rotating, the glow had disappeared as it dropped back down into Alice's hands. She stared at the unusual item, not really sure what to think. Her thoughts were immediately interrupted when the light in the room began to flicker, catching her attention for a second before the whole place began to shake and the lights went out completely.

"Wh-What's going on!? Elliot! Dee! Dum!... Blood!"

_'Great... I'm even calling out for Blood, now..'_ Alice sighed inwardly.

The foreigner closed her eyes tightly, hoping that everything will be fine once she opens them - she was wrong. Her surroundings were now completely black, she was no longer on her bed back at Hatter's manor.

"Elliot! Dee! Dum! Please tell me whats going on!.. I- I'm scared!" She shouted, gripping the object in her hands.

"...Alice?" Came a familiar voice.

The foreigner looked around before pushing herself up to stand, "N...Nightmare? Is that you?"

"Alice!"

"Nightmare! Where are you!? What's going on!?"

"Alice, did you happen to pick up any strange objects?" Nightmare spoke, his voice echoed through the dark void.

Her eyes immediately went to the cube. "Y-Yes! I found this item.. Under my pillow.. Nightmare..? Please tell me what's going on! Where are you!?"

The area around her lit up with a swirling mix of colors as Nightmare appears in front of her, "Ah, there you are!" He smiled in relief. His single, deep grey orb soon spotted the puzzle cube in her hands. "I see.. So, a new game has indeed, begun."

"What... What's going to happen, Nightmare?"

He sighed, shaking his head lightly. "Alice... You will have to play the game.. And-"

Nightmare was cut off when everything went completely black. A large pair of ghostly hands appeared and reached out from behind, grabbing him.

"NIGHTMARE!" Alice yelled out, trying to run after him.

The hands pulled the incubus in as the shadows wrapped around his body, he smiled faintly at the sight of the beloved foreigner trying to come save him, "I'm sorry, Alice.." Soon, Nightmare was swallowed completely by the shadows, leaving the foreigner behind.

"No!" She cried before falling to her knee's, hot tears began to stream down her cheeks, "Nightmare.."

Alice sniffled, wiping away her own tears with the back of her hands. She took a moment, trying to calm down - until the sight of the blasted puzzle cube she held onto made her angry. With all her strength, the foreigner gripped the item and threw it as hard as she could and as far away from her as possible, hoping it would shatter or disappear.

"This.. Has to be.. A dream.." She panted, still in shock. The maiden was drained, afraid, confused and without any doubt, very upset.

Her head suddenly began to spin as a pounding headache caused her to groan in discomfort and pain. Alice's vision began to blur and before she could think about anything else, she fell forward, laying unconscious in the middle of the dark void.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMERS:** I do NOT own Heart/joker/clover no kuni no alice or the characters.

* * *

_**Chapter 4:**_

_"...is..s..?"_

_"mis... re...ou.. wake..?"_

_"..**MISS!**"_

Alice's eyes shot opened at the sound of the voice calling out to her. She blinked, taking in her surroundings, realizing that she was back at the Hatter's mansion and laying in her bed. Turning to the side, two faceless maids stood beside her - obviously concerned.

"Miss? You're finally awake! Are you alright?" Asked one of the maids.

"You have been asleep for quite some time, boss told us to check on you!" Said the other.

She pushed herself to sit up, taking another moment to look around. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Her eyebrows knitted together when she thought about last night; finding the strange puzzle cube, the lights going out, the darkness and Nightmare.

"Nightmare.." She mumbled.

"What was that?" One of the maids tilt her head to the side.

"N-nothing! I'm sorry, I must have been really tired.." She lowered her eyes, gripping the sheets tightly in her hands, "Did.. Something strange happened at all last night?"

The maids looked towards each other then back at the young maiden, "Nothing strange happened last night, Miss.. Are you sure you're feeling well?"

She let out a small sigh, then smiled at the maids, "I-I'm fine! Thank you for checking up on me.. I'll go see Blood as soon as possible."

The faceless maids nodded, returning her smile before turning away and shutting the doors behind them. Alice could have sworn everything that had happened was real. At that thought, she reached her hand under her pillows, searching slowly with caution to see if the object was there. To her relief, there was nothing.

"Maybe it _was_ a dream.."

* * *

"Hey, Boss!" Elliot waved towards the hatter as he steps into the large office, "You okay?"

Blood looked up from his paperworks, an annoyed and worried expression clearly written all over his face, "Elliot? Have you seen the young lady today?"

Raising his eyebrows, he fold his arms in front of his chest, "Hm.. Alice? I haven't seen her yet.. Is something wrong with Alice, boss?"

He sighed, setting his pen down, pushing his chair back before standing up. Elliot watched Blood; he was curious as to why Blood asked him about Alice; was she still not at mansion? Is she sick? He wouldn't really know considering he had just arrived after his boss sent him to take care of a few tasks earlier that day.

Both men became worried, perhaps she was playing with Dee and Dum? No, if she was with the twins, it would have been obvious with all the noises and trouble they would have caused - not to mention their laughter and Alice constantly screaming when she found that the twin's game were becoming dangerous.

"I had sent two maids to check on the young lady earlier.." Blood began, "I wonder wh-"

Blood was interrupted by a gentle knocking on the door. Alice poked her head inside the office and sighed in relief at the sight of both men standing there.

"Blood! Elliot! Thank goodness the both of you are okay!" The foreigner smiled and stepped inside.

Elliot and the hatter stared at the maiden.

"Hey, Alice.. We were just talking about you!" Elliot took a step towards her, "We were wondering why we haven't seen you yet, boss was getting really worried."

"Sorry, Elliot! I... I had a difficult time sleeping last night.. I woke up not too long ago.."

Blood smirked, "Young lady, you know you are welcomed to find me here if you cannot sleep - I would have been _delighted_ to help you.."

Her eye twitched at his comment as her face grimmed. She definately picked up the hint in his voice - something dirty indeed. Coming from Blood, Alice wasn't surprised at all, though. Thinking back from when she arrived in wonderland, Blood had always been very _Suggestive_. Of course, Alice still remembers clearly, the day Blood had tried to strangle her, not to mention when he accused her of being a w*ore, seducing the roleholders.

Even though she and the Hatter had tried to come to some sort of an agreement, there _are_ still moments when things between the two becomes so tense, the air around them grows so thick and unbearable you could probably cut through it with a knife.

The march hare grinned at his boss' comment and nodded in agreement, "See, Alice! You can always come to us if anything bothers you."

Alice let out a small sigh, disappointed that Elliot couldn't detect the _other_ meaning behind Blood's comment. "Yeah.. You're right, thank you both.." She smiled nervously.

"I'm serious, Alice! If you ever need anything, let us know!" Elliot place his hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it for a moment before letting go and heading towards the doors, "Well, I gotta go check and see what those sh*tty runts are up too. See ya around, Alice!" He waved to her, then shut the doors behind him as he left.

Alice couldn't help but to smile at his comment, Elliot can be so sweet and caring, though, she admits the march hare had her scared when she first met him along with Blood and the twins - but that was due to him wanting to shoot her.

Sighing inwardly while clasping her hands in front of her, the foreigner began to think; 'A_lright.. Now I'm alone with Blood... W-WAIT.. OHH, NO!'_ Her mind began to scream at her to turn and run away.

"Young lady..."

Too late..

"I was beginning to believe that I would have to go wake you up myself.." Blood smirked as he approached her.

Alice felt a lump form in her throat as the hatter moved closer to her. She was becoming nervous and frightened, taking a few steps back in attempt to keep a good distance between Blood and herself; that had failed misserably when she felt her back touching against the book shelves - he had her cornered. Blood raise an ungloved hand to her cheek, stroking her soft skin while grinning in amusement at her expression. The man knew he makes the foreigner uncomfortable, and he enjoyed every second of it. Moving his hand, he ran his long, pale fingers through her silky hair and leaned forward, his face at the crook of her neck.

She swallowed, clearing her throat as she began to speak, "Blood... S..Stop.."

"You've worried me quite a bit..." He purred into her ear.

Alice could feel his hand traveling down along the curve of her slender body and stopped at the hem of her dress. Slowly, he ran his fingers up her legs, pushing her dress higher while placing hot butterfly kisses along her neck.

Her mind was racing as her face grew hot. "Blood! I... I said stop!" The foreigner shrieked before pressing her small hands against his chest and shoving him away from her.

The hatter let out a small grunt as he stumbled back, his hand had gripped onto a familiar object. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the square item Blood was holding now; it was that damn puzzle cube, but how?

"So, what is this that you were hiding, young lady?" Blood chuckled, holding up the cube in front of his face, turning it every which way to examine it closely.

The young maiden didn't know how to answer him. She was honestly at a loss for words.

"Young lady?" He glanced back at the girl, then the cube, "Perhaps If I.." He brought up his free hand, placing it on top of the puzzle cube before giving it a slow turn.

"Blood, Don't!"

The puzzle cube began to glow, causing the hatter to raise his delicate eyebrows. The young maiden could feel her heart sinking as she watched the item glowing even brighter, a blinding flash of light causing her to shield her eyes with her arms.

"Blood!?" She called out.

The light vanished.

The foreigner lowered her arm to see the cube floating in the air, it began to twist and turn a couple times before falling back down onto the floor in front of the foreigner.

Blood was gone.

She was visibly shaking now. What is this strange item? This game? First, she lost Nightmare and now Blood? She shook her head and took in a deep breath in attempt to calm herself down. Now she knows for certain, this isn't a dream. Nightmare told her she has no choice but to play the game and win, yet Alice still doesn't know what the game is and _how_ to beat it. Who else could she go too and ask for help?

Taking a few steps foward she reached down to pick up the cube - it was warm.

Alice then gasped when she realized something: who else would know about these games besides Nightmare other than the Jokers? Even though they were never truly a part of the game, they sure knew just as much about these 'games' as Nightmare did.

"Black.. White.." She whispered before shoving the puzzle cube back into the pocket of her dress and turning at her heel, making a sprint for the doors.

The young maiden made it out the mansion and was about to head through the gates until three familar figures caught her attention: Dee, Dum and Elliot.

"Big sis!" The twins shouted in excitement upon seeing her heading their way.

"Hey, Alice! You alright?" Elliot tilted his head to the side slightly, noticing she looked a little pale.

"Dee... Dum.. Elliot.." She began, "Blood... Is gone!"

The three looked at each other, then back at the brunette.

"What? But how? We didn't see him leave." The march hare said.

"Yeah, Onee-san! Boss is probably taking a break somewhere," Dee grinned, "Can you play with us now? We're so bored!" He ran over to grab ahold of her right arm.

"Yeah, Big sis! We haven't seen you all day, play with us!" Dum chirped, also running over to grab her opposite arm. Both twins looked up at her with wide, bright eyes. Elliot groaned and shook his head, he approached them and grabbed the twins behind the shirt collar and began to try to pull them away from the foreigner.

"Get off her, worms!" He growled, then with more strength he pulled at the twins again.

The boys gripped Alice's arms even tighter, trying not to lose their hold on her as Elliot continued to yank at them.

"Stupid chicken rabbit, let go!" Dee hissed.

"Yeah, what brother said! Let go! We saw Big sis first!"

"S-Stop!" Alice demanded.

Unfortunately for the young maiden, Dee and Dum continued to hold onto her for dear life as they argue with Elliot. The pain from being yanked around like some children's toy was making her feel even more uneasy and slightly dazed. To think things couldn't possibly get any worse, it does as the heat rising in Elliot's face made it very clear he was irritated. Gripping the back of their shirt collar as tight as he can, he pulled again more forcefully. Alice yelped as she stumbled and lost her balance, falling and landing on her side.

The boys gasped as they watched their 'big sis' fall and a cube suddenly slipped out from her pocket. Elliot released his grip on the twins immediately, his eyes widened in shock and horror. "Alice! I'm.. I'm so sorry!"

"Big sis! We're sorry! Are you. . ." While Elliot rushed to help Alice to her feet, the twins eyes were caught by a fancy little square object on the ground - their attention was now focused on the puzzle item as Dee reached down and picked up the object.

Their eyes lit up with curiosity and excitement.

"Onee-san! Why didn't you show us this before?" Dum questioned, he and his brother turned to face the young maiden and the hare.

"No! Don't touch that!"

"Hey.. I didn't know you liked playing with toys, Alice!" Elliot snickered, reaching out a long, powerful arm and grabbing ahold of the cube.

"Elliot! Dee! Dum! Give that back to me befo-"

The twins furrowed their eyebrows, glaring up at violet-eyed man, not losening their grip on the cube, "Let go, stupid rabbit!" the boys growled as they try to pull the item away from the march hare.

"I'm not a rabbit, dammit! And this is Alice's toy, anyways!" Elliot argued back, pulling at the cube.

Her heart was racing again as she watched the three. Shaking her head, she balled her hands into fists. The brunette already lost two friends, she didn't want to lose anymore.

Then, she noticed a bright glowing light.

Extending her arm, she screamed out their names as the object shone even brighter, forcing her eyes shut from the blinding light once again. When the light vanished and the young maiden opened her eyes slowly, tears were beginning to form and threaten to fall at any given moment from the sight of the item falling onto the ground.

Her friends were gone.

She lowered her head as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Alice sobbed quietly for a moment before taking in a deep breath in attempt to calm herself down. How could she let this happen again? Where did they go? Wiping away her tears with the back of her arm, she walked towards the mysterious object. "I'll beat this game," Alice whispered, picking up and shoving the puzzle cube back into her pocket. "And I'll find a way to get my friends back!"

As quickly as her legs can move, Alice took off running into the forest.

* * *

"Well done, everyone!" White chirped, taking in the sight of the circus stage set up inside the large tent.

The jester and the circus performers had finished setting up the stage and rehearsing their acts over and over again, preparing for the show that soon approaches. Everything was perfect, the acts were sure to surprise and amaze the audience. "Let's see..." White spoke softly to himself, tapping his index finger at his chin.

"Wh... White!"

The corner of his lips twitched, turning into a mischevious grin. So, Wonderland's precious foreigner has finally returned. White chuckled softly - he knew, he finally had her.

"White!" Alice cried as she slowed down, stopping a few feet from where he stood, his back facing her. She was panting heavily after running non-stop from the mansion, it felt as if her lungs and her heart could burst at any moment.

"Miss!" He tried to sound surprised, smiling brightly when he turned to face her, "How nice to see you again~ What is wrong?"

"White!.. You have... To help.. Me!" She took in another breath and reached into her pocket, pulling out the square object, holding it up for him to see.

"Where the f*ck did you find that?" Came an angry voice.

White folded his arms across his chest. Soon, their surroundings wavered and darkened before the scene of the cold prison appeared. Alice blinked a few times and looked around before turning her attention back to White.

The Jester tilted his head to the side, "A new game has started?"

Alice gave a slight nod, "I.. Found this under my pilllow.. While I was staying at the mansion," she could feel her eyes starting to water again, "Nightmare and Blood! They're gone! Elliot and the twins, too! I don't know what is going on.. I was hoping you could help me?"

He grinned.

"And _why_ the f*ck should we help you?"

The foreigner looked around again, expecting the warden to appear at any given moment. Then, something caught her eyes as she turned to face where White was standing; a dark figure shifted around behind him before it took a step to the side, standing next to the ringleader.

"Black!" Alice gasped.

"Answer my damn questions, girly!" The warden demanded, "_Why_ should we f*cking help you? What's in it for _us_?"

She stood there in silent - Alice was stunned.

The foreigner had ran all the way here, hoping the Jokers would help her, but it's obvious to her now that Black and even the jester himself, definitely wanted something in return. She held the item close to her, staring down at it as the thoughts of her dear friends flooded her mind again. "Be-Because.. I..." Her voice quavered, "I want to save my friends.. What _do_ you want from me?" Her large eyes were now fixed on the two Joker's.

White and his counterpart glanced at each other and shared a grin. "We know what the game is... And we will help you," White said softly, "But what we want from you. . ." The jester stepped towards her.

"Is very simple..." Black finished, smirking and approaching her as well.

Both Joker's began to circle the young maiden, their eyes never leaving her.

"I want you to be my assistant at the circus~" White spoke in a cheerful tone.

"...And my maid here at the prison," Black nodded.

They continued to circle her, like two hungry wolves surrounding a helpless, innocent lamb.

"You will check the cells, clean-"

"_And_ cook! Since _someone_ keeps burning the food~" White pretended to clear his throat, smiling to himself.

The warden glared at his counterpart, then looked at the foreigner, "What we want most of all.."

The ringleader leaned forward, his warm breath against her ear sent shivers down her spine, "Is for you to move in and live with us.." He purred.

At those words, her eyes widened, "But... I... I can't..."

The Jester pulled away, frowning at her, "Then I'm afraid you will have to figure this all out on your own, dear," He shrugged his shoulders, "I apologize, but Joker and I are _very_ busy, I'm sure you already know."

"Tch, goodluck getting the f*cking roleholders back!" Black said bitterly as he turned and began walking away from her.

"I... No! W-wait!" Alice ran up to grab the sleeve of the warden's prison uniform, "I... I'll do it.."

The warden smirked before turning to face her. She had no other choices, the Jokers knew how to play this game and how to get her friends back. Perhaps, living with the warden and the jester won't be so bad? "Just please.. Help me!"

White held out his hand to her, and for a moment she stared at him with her eyebrows raised, unsure of whether handing the object over to him was a good idea or not - especially after what had happened with the roleholders. Slowly, she approached him and carefully placed the puzzle cube in the palm of his hand.

"Interesting..." The jester spoke, raising a perfect brow. Then, without a care, he tossed the object high into the air.

"White!" Alice screamed, running after the item while reaching her arms out, getting ready to catch the falling item.

A hand suddenly reached out and caught the square puzzle.

She turned to see the warden gazing down at her, his single orb showing no emotions, "You have to solve each side of the cube," He spoke, holding the item closer to his face, examining it.

White nodded, "There are six images on there: Heart, Clover, Diamond, Spade.."

"Then there's the damn 'Skull' and the 'Joker'," Black finished, tossing the cube into the air again, towards the jester.

"For each side you solve successfully, something will happen - It can be anything," The jester sighed audibly as he reached up to catch the item. "Each side is something different. We might appear in another dimension or end up somewhere here in Wonderland - it's unpredictable... However, "

Alice was feeling pretty uneasy now. She never expected to see this side to White and Black - she knew there was _something_ about them, especially White, but the maiden never knew how _wicked_ the two could be, and for them to toss the item around without a care in the world made her shift around uncomfortably as she listened.

"Avoid solving the 'Skull' until the very end," Black walked over to stand next to White. "If the image of the 'Skull' was somehow completed before the others, You'll lose another person - it can be anyone, except you, sl*t."

"Joker is right!" The jester proceeded by tossing the cube up and down in his hand, "That person will also be placed in a dangerous situation, whereas the roleholders who disappeared previously for messing with this item are simply being held as prisoners until you beat the game. Keep in mind though, Miss, that you might even lose us!" He chuckled, "It should not be a problem to solve that last, as long as this puzzle does not fall into the wrong hands-"

"_Or_ some _idiot_ didn't know what they're doing and screwed things up." The warden narrowed his visible eye at Alice.

"Once the whole puzzle is solved, there will be _one_ final challenge - the toughest of all."

She nodded, "What about.. The image of the 'Joker'?"

Black clucked his tongue, "Think of it as a 'wild card', girly..." He reached over, catching the square item in mid air. "So, let's say we're trapped somewhere... The 'joker' will give us a way out, but we could end up being in the middle of a whole different situation or place."

Alice reached her hands up to rub her temples, trying to soothe the headache that threatened to grow worse as she tried to understand the Joker's explaination about how the game worked, "Okay, I think... I understand."

White snatched the puzzle cube from his partner's hand, "Very good then! What are we waiting for? We must hurry before it's too late!" He stepped towards the maiden, then stood beside her.

She smiled at him unsurely, then turned to look at the warden with a questioning look on her face.

Black rolled his eye. "I have to stay here and watch over the prison and the damn circus!"

The ringleader placed a firm hand on her shoulder, "We will _switch places_ once the other is exhausted.. Besides, we will be able to keep in contact!" He looked down at the white mask that sat on his belt.

Alice nodded again, she still had a ton more questions to ask, but it's best she saved them for later.

"Are you ready, Miss Alice?"

Alice straightened herself, "Y-Yes.. I'm ready, White!" Even though the maiden is nervous and very much afraid, she was glad that now, she at least had Black and the Jester to help her.

He hummed in amusement at her confidence. Pulling his hand away from her shoulder, White held up the puzzle cube in front of him and slowly began twisting the top and bottom, turning it over a few times before twisting the sides. Alice raised her eyebrows in disbelief; White obviously knew what he was doing as the image of the diamond soon started to come together. "A turn here... And here.. Twist this part back, then bring the lower part back here and... There!"

The picture of the 'Diamond' was complete, the image then started to glow.

Alice grabbed ahold of White's arm and shut her eyes when the light grew even brighter, devouring their forms. Black held up an arm to shield his eye as he watched his counterpart and the foreigner glowing like the puzzle item itself. Then, after a blinding flash, the light vanished.

The warden pulled his arm down slowly. He noticed the item, White and Alice had disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMERS: **I do NOT own Heart/joker/clover no kuni no alice or the characters.

* * *

_**Chapter 5:**_

Alice and White suddenly appeared, floating in mid-air. The two were just a few feet above the forest floor until the light, which was currently surrounding their forms, disappeared and caused the two to go crashing down.

"Ouch..." Alice groaned, slowly pushing herself up and rubbing the side of her head, "We're... Back in the forest?" She asked, looking around.

White stood up steadily and brushed himself off, "Don't be fooled, Miss... Remember, we are in the middle of a game now." He reminded, picking up his box-shaped hat from the ground, placing it back on top of his head and adjusting it slightly before scanning the surrounding area.

"What are we supposed to do now, White?"

**'Oi, Joker!'** A screeching voice called, startling the two.

Both turned their attention towards the mask that rested upon the Jester's belt. "What is it, Joker?"

**'Where the hell are you two? Anything happened yet?'**

White look around again.

The forest was deathly silent, almost as if they were at a graveyard. "We are in the forest, it looks like... But something seems... O_ff_." He said, noticing how there were no signs of birds flying or singing like they usually do in Joker's forest; the sky was also painfully dark, almost as if a storm could be coming soon.

There was a faint, buzzing sound until the warden's voice screeched through the mask again, **'Keep your eye peeled, Clown...' **Black warned.

The ringleader rolled his eye at his counterpart's comment - as if he didn't know _that_ by now. Turning to face Alice, he gave her a small smile, "Shall we go see what is going on in town? Perhaps, we will find out what we must do along the way."

She nodded and returned his smile.

Alice and White began walking alongside each other, making their way through the tall trees and thick bushes. Was this the real Wonderland? What are they to expect now? Traps? an ambush? Then, from the corner of his wine orb, the man caught a glimpse of a shadow dashing through the trees in the distance - something was _definitely_ not right here. What bothered the jester further, was the fact that the forest didn't seem to show any changes as they continued to walk; it seems as though they were trapped here in this dark forest.

A shiver suddenly traveled down the foreigner's spine. It wasn't particularly the chill in the air that made her uncomfortable, nor was it the forest, regardless of how creepy it was. Alice couldn't help but to feel as if someone or _something_ was watching them with intense, burning eyes. Glancing over at her companion, the young maiden noticed how quiet he was. White showed a stern expression on his face as he walked with her, it's as if he was contemplating about something serious - they _were_ currently 'playing' a game after all, a dangerous one, in a matter of fact. She wondered though, if the man also felt like they were being followed. _'Maybe I'm just paranoid..'_

"Hey, White?" Alice started, not taking her eyes off him. "Do you... Feel like we're being watched?" She rubbed the goose-bumps on her arms and took another look around their surroundings as they continued walking. He gripped the puzzle cube tighter in his hand and raised an eyebrow at her, "Being watched?" The redhead knew it was true after spotting the figure earlier, but for some strange reason, their stalker has not tried to attack them thus far.

Maybe they should lure the mysterious figure out here instead? The redhead smirked when an idea popped into his mind.

White snapped his fingers, as if realizing something, "Oh! I'll be right back, Miss! I should check and see if the circus might be nearby - it'll only be a while~" He said in a sing-song voice, turning at his heel and taking off.

"W-what!? White, wait!" Alice's eyes widened, she reached out her arm and headed in his direction, running after the ringleader. "White!" Alice shouted, but it was too late. The man had completely vanished from her view, disappearing behind a few trees, leaving her alone in this menacing forest.

If they were to find out who the mysterious stalker was, they needed to bait that person and lure them out into the opening. In other words: Alice will be the poor, defenseless bait. The redhead believed this would make things a little easier, in a sense that he will have the element of surprise in his hands instead of the figure. However, White still needed to keep a close eye on the foreigner, in case she is caught in a dangerous situation once the stalker presented himself.

Alice will definitely be upset with the ringleader later on.

She clenched her fists and lowered her head. How could White just leave? What if something happened? The jester also carried the puzzle item with him - why would he just disappear on her like that?

Her thoughts came to an abrupt end when rustling noises came from a nearby bush, causing her heart to skip a beat. A shadow jumped out and rushed past her from behind, forcing the maiden to stumble slightly when she attempted to turn around to face who, or what it was. "White?" She whispered.

Silence answered her question.

"White...?" She called out a little more unsurely, shifting around nervously. "This isn't funny! Come out here!"

A faint but deep laughter suddenly echoed around her.

Alice gasped, "Whose there!?" She took a few steps back, looking around more frantically, trying to find where the laughter was coming from. Honestly, the brunette hoped this was nothing more but a joke the jester was playing on her - unfortunately, that wasn't the case when a dark figure appeared just a few feet up ahead, hiding within the shadows of the trees.

"You forgot about me already, Alice? That hurts!"

Her eyebrows shot up at the familiar voice, "A... Ace!? Is that really you?"

The figure stepped out and approached her in a leisurely manner, walking towards the small open area where she currently stood, "Hiya Alice! What are you doing here?" He grinned and folded his arms over his chest.

Upon seeing the short brown hair and a pair of red eyes, the foreigner sighed in relief. Standing before her now, was Ace, the knave of hearts who was wearing his usual uniform, a red trench coat and his sword at his side; nothing wrong here, right? Usually, she would be a little nervous around the knight, but with her situation at the moment, the young maiden was glad to see _someone_ she knew. "I was... I thought I was..." Her voice trailed off.

Alice knitted her brows together when she couldn't ignore the fact there was this odd feeling from deep inside, nagging at her suddenly - telling the maiden that she was in danger. The knight is dangerous, she knew that, but this time, it seems as though something was very wrong here. "Where... Am I..?" The maiden decided to ask, staring up at the man with her large, teal orbs.

Ace laughed. "You're in the forest, silly! Did you get lost, too? I have a great idea, why don't we camp out together?" he smiled.

The foreigner shuddered, then eyed his face curiously, as if she was searching for something.

"Alice?" The knight cocked his head to the side, "How about I start a fire for us?"

"N-no, that's alright, Ace! I was..." She lowered her gaze then, clasping her hands in front of her face before speaking up again, "I was just wondering where White went... I... Should go find him."

The man's lips turned downward into a frown as a serious expression washed over his face, "White? You mean, Joker? Alice, they're dangerous! Stay here with me instead..." He spoke in a low, cold tone that made the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

_'Something is different about Ace..'_

She took a step back from the knight as her eyes shot up, her azure eyes now fixed onto his crimson orbs, "I'm sorry, Ace, I.. I really have to go now! Bye!" Alice spun on her heel, her mind was now screaming at her to run. The foreigner's breath hitched in her throat when she felt Ace grabbing ahold of her pale arm. Roughly, he pulled her back against his body, wrapping both of his strong arms around her to prevent her from escaping. "A-Ace!" Alice shouted, struggling to free herself from him, "What are you doing!? Let go of me!"

"I have to protect you, Alice..." He spoke in an icy tone.

"No! Let me go!"

The knight chuckled and tightened his hold around her, resting his chin on top of her head. Just as the brunette was about to scream for White, she realized something: since her head was pressed so firmly against his chest, she didn't hear the ticking sound of his clock - all she heard, was silence and his laughter.

It dawned on her then; the man hugging onto her at the moment, wasn't the real Ace, was he?

"You... Y-your clock.. What happened to your clock?" She gulped.

A wide grin spread across his face as he barked with laughter, "Well, there goes all my fun!" Ace tilt his head back and let out another laugh, one that seemed to be almost animalistic as low, deep growling could be heard from deep within his chest.

She immediately pushed his arms over her head, successfully wiggling herself free from his grip and turning around to face the man who claimed to be 'Ace', "Who are you!?" Alice demanded. Her heart was pounding against her chest as he gave her a wry smile. She pressed her lips together and started backing away from him again slowly, noticing the vibrant red of his eyes glowing eerily at her.

"I told you Alice, I am Ace..." He stared down at her, "But since you already know my little _secret_, I guess there is no use in keeping this form, huh?" Ace shrugged his shoulders then tilt his head back and cackled again, sounding much like a mad scientist whom successfully created a living monster.

The brunette's eyes widened in horror when she noticed fangs were starting to appear in his mouth, his face and body began to deform and reshape itself into some wolf-like creature. Most of his clothes were torn to shreds then, the sword he was carrying fell onto the ground as claws and brown fur began to appear when he hunched over, growling deeply.

Placing a hand over her mouth, Alice panicked.

The knight transformed into some half human, half wolf-like being, one that she's heard and seen before but only in books and movies about mythical creatures. "W-wh..Werewolf!" She shrieked, turning away from him and running in the opposite direction as fast as she could. "What am I supposed to do, I'm going to be eaten alive at this rate... White!" Her eyes began to water as she continued running through the forest as quickly as her legs can move.

The foreigner heard the beast's loud howling, coming from behind her- he was hot on her trails and she was too terrified to turn around and look to see how close he was, "White!" Alice screamed. Hot, salty tears streamed down her cheeks, "Help me, please! Someone!"

The maiden soon realized, much to her dismay, no matter how far she ran and which direction she turned too, everything was the same; there was no sight of town, the tower, or even the circus - she was not only lost, but trapped while a vicious beast was coming after her. Suddenly, she tripped over a tree's surfaced root and fell face forward onto the cold, damp grass. This was it, she thought. Alice couldn't save her friends, let alone, get through the first round of this stupid game - and the damn jester had also ditched her a while ago, leaving her for dead.

The knave of hearts was going to kill her, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

"Awww, poor Alice..." The beast snarled as he appeared, slowly circling around her quivering form. He knew she was helpless, especially after the stupid jester had decided to leave her behind in search of the circus. This was almost _too_ easy, Ace grinned.

Slowly pushing herself up to sit, she panted. "Someone... Help... Me..." Her body was shaking due to fear and shock.

"Don't worry, Alice!" The creature ran his tongue over his razor-sharp fangs, "This will all be over soon!" He leaned back on his hind legs and launched himself towards her with his mouth wide open, his intense red eyes fixated on her throat.

Alice squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath.

"Alice!" The sound of a whip being lashed out and a loud, distinct whimpering from the beast forced her eyes to open. The maiden witnessed the frightening creature falling onto his side, his eyes shut tight with a pained expression on his face as he laid just a few inches away from her.

Walking up to the petrified brunette, White outstretched a hand for her to take, "Are you okay, Miss?" He asked.

She turned her head and glared up at the jester, "I almost got killed - no, I'm not okay!" She shouted, then wiped away her tears with the back of her hands. Still, Alice had to admit she was beyond relieved that White showed up right on time, otherwise, she would have ended up as the werewolf's dinner by now. Taking in a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves, she spoke again but more softly this time, "I don't know what happened... Ace appeared, then he suddenly turned into _that_." The young woman pointed at the creature, then turned to accept White's hand and pulled herself back up onto her feet.

He quirked an eyebrow, "_That's_ the directionally challenged knight? Interesting... I wonder what the rest of the roleholders will be like.." He mused.

"What!?"

"Shhhh," The redhead placed a finger on her lips, telling her to keep her voice down. "I cannot find a way out of here, unfortunately..." He frowned, pulling back from her.

"...What are we going to do then?" She whispered.

A vicious snarling from the beast startled the two as the knight slowly pushed himself up. Shaking his head and rubbing the side of his neck, he inhaled deeply to take in all the scent around him before his eyes shot opened and immediately, his gaze were fixed on the two.

Alice took a step back and gulped when Ace bared his teeth at them and growled.

"My, my... What big teeth you have!" The jester mocked, smirking at the creature and gripping his whip tightly in his hand.

**'The f*ck is that!?'**

The redhead blinked, narrowing his visible eye at the beast before replying to his counterpart slowly, "That's the knave of hearts, Joker."

**'I know _that_!'** The mask screeched, **'I'm talking about the f*cking mark on his damn chest, clown!'**

White raised a brow, turning his attention to the creature's chest as the beast stood up high, practically towering over the two. Indeed, upon looking more carefully, the ringleader noticed there was a black, diamond-shaped mark on Ace's chest - it was hardly recognizable due to all the fur around it, but now that the jester saw the marking, he grinned knowingly.

"What does the mark on his chest mean?" Alice whispered, standing behind him.

Before the jester could answer, Ace rushed towards them with his arms stretched out, claws ready to tear the redhead to pieces. White held out an arm in front of Alice, telling her to stay back as he pushed himself forward and begins lashing out at the beast with his whip. The creature managed to dodge the incoming attacks easily and laughed when the jester barely missed almost getting clawed across the face.

White jumped back, landing gracefully on his feet. Standing beside the maiden, he stared down the knight who started to circle around them impatiently, like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike and take down it's prey.

"How are we going to get out of here?" The brunette asked in a concern and frighten voice.

"I believe the only way out... Is to kill him," White answered honestly, "I have no power over the forest in this world... Running will prove to be useless." He sighed.

She tore her eyes away from the beast to look up at the redhead; he was serious when he said that. Alice had never seen the jester like this before, and it made her ponder: what else would she learn about the two Jokers? Is White really as kind and polite as he seemed to be? Shaking her head, Alice turned her attention back to the snarling wolf-like creature and frowned. The foreigner never liked violence, seeing her friends trying to kill one another - especially for fun, upset her greatly. However, this Ace wasn't the real knight she knew back in Wonderland.

If they wanted to get pass this round, there was only one option.

This was only a game, She told herself, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. Alice sighed and lowered her eyes. "W-white... I think we-"

"Alice - watch out!" The jester shouted over his shoulder. He turned swiftly and shoved her to the side, just before the claws of the werewolf came slashing downward.

Alice made a terrible mistake; she let her guards down when she lowered her eyes, and that was enough to give Ace a chance to strike.

Falling hard onto the ground, the foreigner winced and shook her head, a little dazed and shocked at what just happened. She gasped, her eyes flew opened upon feeling and noticing a warm, red substance dripping onto her arm. Forcing herself to look up, she cried out, "White!"

The warm liquid on her arm was the jester's blood.

White winced in pain as he gritted his teeth. Large claw marks ran down his chest from Ace's attack, but thankfully, he was able to push the beloved foreigner out of the way just in time - if it had been her instead, she would most likely have been killed right on the spot. Cursing the beast and his situation mentally, the ringleader glared pointedly at the knight. _'He's much faster in this world...'_ He thought bitterly, gripping onto his bloody chest with his free hand.

"Sorry, Mister Joker," Ace licked the blood off his claws and ran his tongue over his fangs, "but it looks like your time is up!" He pulled his arm back and spring towards the jester again, getting ready to strike.

"I don't think so, knave of hearts!" White grinned wickedly as he jumped up and kicked the creature hard on the nose, forcing Ace to stumble back, whimpering as he rubbed his face.

"It's been nice playing with you~" The redhead held his whip high above his head.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Ace snarled.

The jester's whip glowed a bright red before it transformed into a pistol, "Ah, but I am..." Holding the gun out in front of the beast, he pulled the trigger and began shooting. There was no time to waste and absolutely no room for any more mistakes, especially with the fresh wounds on his chest now - he can't afford to get hit by the knight again.

Alice watched intently as the creature dodged the bullets that were flying his way. He chuckled and started slashing at the redhead again with his sharp claws. White jumped aside, avoiding the swift, incoming attack from the beast. _'He's definitely much faster..' _He leaned back as Ace's hand went flying past his face; the knight growled in frustration before pulling his arm back and delivering a quick, powerful blow across White's face, sending him flying and skidding across the open field.

"No!" The maiden pushed herself up and dashed to the jester's side, "White!" She crouched down and slipped a slender arm behind his neck to help him sit up. The man opened his visible eye and furrowed his brows at the sight of Ace coming right towards them again.

"Is that all you got, Mister Joker?!" Ace roared up in laughter, "I'm disappointed!"

"A-ace! Stop!" The foreigner yelled.

"Miss..." White spoke softly, "let's.. Finish this round, shall we?" Holding up his gun, the redhead aimed it towards the beast and waited. He was quickly growing tired due to the large gashes on his chest, causing him to lose a mass amount of blood. If he can't get this one shot to hit the diamond mark on the knight's chest, the game would be over - _everything_ would be lost. Alice felt her eyes burning again, she hugged the jester and turned her head to stare at the werewolf as he launched himself high up into the air, stretching his arms towards them; claws ready, his mouth wide open.

The foreigner squeezed her eyes shut, "White!"

A wide grin spread across the jester's lips; with a pull of the trigger and a loud '_bang'_, the creature's eyes widened in shock when he realized where the bullet had hit. The knight went crashing down hard onto the grass, landing right before their feet, his body unmoving.

Sighing in relief, the ringleader looked at Alice who still held onto him for dear life - the poor maiden was shaking and her eyes were still tightly shut. Chuckling softly, he held up his gun which then vanished into thin air, "It's over now, Miss~" He chimed.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked around before noticing the knight's body laying there in his own pool of dark blood - almost running black. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head and his tongue lolled out of his mouth.

"Is he...?"

Struggling slightly, White stood up and helped the foreigner onto her feet. "We finally got him!" He nodded.

**'F*ck, Joker! T****ook you long enough to kill the ba*tard!'**

The jester laughed faintly, "Sorry, joker! He moves much faster in this world..."

**'...Whatever, don't just stand there! Get your asses moving! You're hurt!'**

"White...?"

Turning his attention to brunette, he tilt his head to the side.

"You shot him.. Is... Is this how the rest of the game supposed to be?" The expression on her face showed a mixture of confusion, fear and anguish.

He reached up to clench the front of his blood-soaked shirt, flinching from the stinging sensation. White gave her a curt nod and replied, "This... Is how the game works, dear!" He explained, "I don't know what - or whom, we might face next, we could get sent back to the real Wonderland with an odd task, or we may end up in another place, somewhere..."

"D-does that mean.. We might see more fake roleholders? Like that Ace there..?" Her eyes shifted towards the lifeless creature.

**'Well, no sh*t!'** The voice shrilled again,** 'Listen here girly, they might not all turn into some crazy beasts, but you'll never know! This game is unpredictable, remember?**'

"Joker is right, Miss..." White agreed, "always remember that we are in the middle of a game now.. I know you're worried about the roleholders, but in this game, one mistake can prove to be fatal.." His wine orb cast downward, gesturing toward the gashes on his chest. "We can't trust anyone else for the time being - There's only you, Joker and myself now."

"I... I understand.." She whispered. _'This is all a game...'_ Alice reminded herself.

White got hurt while trying to protect her from Ace, and this was only the beginning of the game. What could be next? Will they end up running into a fake Blood Dupre that transformed into a vampire? Or maybe they'll meet the real Boris Airay who turned into some psychopath killer? She shook her head mentally at the absurd thoughts and sighed.

A faint light from beneath their feet soon caught their attention. The foreigner raised her eyebrows and watched as the white light took shape of a large, glowing diamond.

"Haha! That means we have officially beaten this part of the game!" The redhead smiled. He inhaled sharply and groaned, leaning forward and clenching the front of his shirt tightly again, his vision started to blur.

"Oh, no - White!" The foreigner tried to hold him up.

"Let's hope the next place we end up will have a first-aid kit, hm?" White exhaled, blinking a few times before he pulled the hat off his head.

Alice raised a delicate brow as she watched him reached into his hat and began searching for something. What could possible be hidden in that silly box-shaped hat of his? Was this some kind of magic trick?

"Ah!" His wine orb lit up when he grabbed a hold of something. Pulling his hand back out, the maiden was amazed when he held out the puzzle cube.

So, _that_ was where he kept it hidden.

Placing his hat back on his head, the jester turned to face Alice, "Are you ready to move onto the next round, Miss?"

Inhaling deeply to calm her racing heart, she nodded. "Yes... We need to find you some bandages and get your wounds treated.."

White couldn't help but to smile at her words; the foreigner was just so innocent and caring, he was starting to understand why all the roleholders in Wonderland loved her so much. Leaning forward, he spoke in a low, velvety smooth voice, "You're so sweet," White lowered his face closer to hers, "I could just... Eat you up right now." He grinned.

Heat started to rise in her face upon hearing those words, even when he's injured and exhausted, White still had it in him to tease her like this. She furrowed her brows and stared at him pointedly, "W-white, we really need t-to get your wounds treated!"

**'The sl*t is right, clown! You're still f*cking bleeding!'**

The maiden sighed, thanking the warden mentally. What was that all about?

Focusing back on the puzzle cube in the jester's hand, she noticed something, "Wait.. Where did the 'diamond' go?" She pointed at the item.

Examining the cube closely, the redhead hummed, "The image of the diamond must have disappeared when we beat this round.." He mused. "Well, Miss... Hang on tight - we might be falling in mid-air again when we arrive at our next destination."

Alice pressed her lips into a fine line, hesitating for a moment. He was right, if they suddenly appeared in the middle of a fight or floating in mid-air again, she needed to make sure she would be right beside the jester. Slowly, the foreigner wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging the redhead, not minding his blood-stained shirt. She lowered her face, hoping he wouldn't see the blush that stained her cheeks.

Grinning to himself, White held up the puzzle item and begun turning and twisting the parts around again. "Hmmm... Let's go for... 'Heart'.." Rotating and twisting a few parts forward and back, White turned the bottom part one last time before an image of the 'Heart' was complete.

The diamond beneath their feet glowed even brighter as the image became distorted for a brief moment before it started shaping itself into a Heart.

White chuckled, wrapping an arm around the foreigner. Only a few more rounds and Alice will be in their hands, he thought. He was beginning to like Wonderland's little foreigner, she was entertaining to him.

In a bright, blinding flash of light, they disappeared again.

* * *

"Ace here, reporting for duty!"

The warden cringed inwardly at the voice.

Turning around, he was faced with the knave of hearts who saluted him while grinning like an idiot. He blinked his single wine orb, thinking about what had happened with his counterpart and the foreigner not too long ago. "Watch over the prison while I go check and see how the circus is doing.." The warden ordered, narrowing his eye slightly.

Ace pulled his hand down and tilted his head to the side, staring curiously at the redhead, "Is something the matter, Mister Joker? You don't look too good!" He teased, then laughed.

Black gritted his teeth. "Nothing's the matter! Just f*cking do your job, knight!"

Ace's laughter ceased before he settled with a knowing smile, "Are you thinking about Alice?" His smile widened into a grin when the warden glared at him, a look of shock was clearly on his face, "It's okay to like Alice, Mister Joker! Everyone does!"

Grinding his teeth, the warden tightened his grip on the riding crop. "What did you say!? Why, you-"

"I should probably get going now, shouldn't I?" Ace rubbed his chin, "Gotta check and make sure none of the prisoners escaped!" He flashed the warden another smile before turning away and waving his hand dismissively in the air, "See ya around, Mister Joker!"

Black watched as Ace disappeared around the corner, whistling a happy tune as he went. Letting out a loud sigh and raising a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, the warden glanced down at the mask on his belt. He wondered if the two had made it to their next destination yet. His counterpart was also injured and growing exhausted quickly, which meant they will have to switch bodies soon, in order to keep up with this new game.

_'Alice..'_ He thought. That's right, it was all thanks to the sl*t's carelessness that Joker got hurt.

The prison walls around him darkened and distorted before the he appeared at the circus. The warden mumbled a few colorful words under his breath as he walked around, checking to make sure everything was in order and the performers were well.

Then, he raised a brow when something crossed his mind: just a while ago, the clown was about to kiss the foreigner, wasn't he?

* * *

A flash of light vanished as Alice appeared, sitting in complete darkness.

"White...?" The foreigner whispered, reaching her hands out in front of her to feel around for anything. What is this place? All she knew was that she's currently sitting in perhaps a small cart of some sort with a metal bar in front, holding her down.

Then she felt something beside her shifting around.

"Miss?" White spoke.

"White! Are you... How are you doing?" She asked, stretching her hand out to the side, relieved to feel he was sitting right next to her.

The jester felt a tiny hand suddenly patting and feeling the side of his face. "Could be worse," he laughed softly, "Where did we end up now? It's so dark here..."

"I'm not sure... This seems _familiar_ to me somehow..." Alice replied, "but thank goodness we didn't fall out of the sky, right?"

The jester was about to open his mouth to speak, until the sound of screeching metal caught his full attention. The cart they sat in started to move, causing the jester to raise an eyebrow as to what was going on. Soon, he spotted a light up ahead as the cart seemed to be pushing them upwards, moving them closer to that light.

Perhaps they were in a tunnel? But this felt all too _strange_ to be any regular 'tunnel', he thought.

"Wh-White..."

"What is it, dear?" He turned to face Alice, but only saw complete darkness. White winced again when the burning sensation on his torso continued to remind him of his current condition.

"I-I think I know where we are..." The foreigner said dryly.

"Oh?"

The bright glare caused them to shield their eyes; they had finally reached the end of the 'tunnel' as the squeaking, metal wheels on the cart slowed to a complete stop. The jester and Alice pulled their arms away, wanting to take in the view of where they had appeared.

Both their eyes widened upon noticing where they were.

"We're at the Amusement Park..." A grim expression fell upon her face.

Alice and White were pretty high up in the air, judging by the nice view. It was a warm sunny day, the sky was clear, they could hear faint noises of people and music from down below. Then, upon looking down, the ringleader pressed his lips into a fine line once he realized they were not in a tunnel, but on a _roller coaster ride_.

They gasped when they heard the screeching of the metal wheels again.

"White!" Alice threw her arms around the jester and screamed from the top of her lungs when the carts suddenly dropped them straight down. "AHHHHH!"

Gripping onto his hat with one hand and holding tightly onto the metal bar with the other, he mentally cursed their current predicament as they descended down the tracks of the roller coaster in lightning speed.

* * *

**A/N: Hello lovely readers~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Once again, thank you to those who took the time to read &amp; review! Your comments really pushes &amp; motivated me to write and update this story! I had a difficult time writing this chapter, probably because of everything else going on in my life - my brain is being crushed by homework &amp; such. I was listening to _'KoRn - Coming Undone'_ &amp; _'As Blood Runs Black - Instinct'_ when I wrote the fight scene - nothing big, just needed to get the blood pumping.**

**Now that the jester &amp; Alice have arrived at the amusement park, what will happen this time? All I can tell you is: White will be switching bodies with Black in the next chapter &amp; more roleholders will be making their appearances as well ;)**

**Thank you for reading, I hope all of you are doing well~ Please review.**

**~Hynotized By fate**


End file.
